Manually operable pump



1967 H. DE FQRREST 3,335,673

MANUALLY OPERABLE PUMP Filed Jan. 17, 1966 I/wav roe LIE/way asPale/25.97-

fir TORNE Vs.

United States Patent 3,335,673 MANUALLY OPERABLE PUMP Henry the Forrest,3604 Sunswept Drive, Studio City, Calif. 91694 Filed Jan. 17, 1966, Ser.N0. 521,130 4 Claims. (Cl. 103-178) The present invention relates to amanually operable pump of the type utilized to draw a liquid from astorage tank or reservoir, and more particularly relates to a new andimproved manually operable pump of the reciprocating piston type whereinthe piston is selfcleaning, selflubricating :and self-aligning within anenclosing cylinder.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improvedmanually operable pump which is simple in construction, economical tomanufacture and assemble, provided with a minimum of moving parts, andwhich is reliable in operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a manuallyoperable pump for drawing a liquid from a storage tank, which is soconstructed as to be easily mounted adjacent the storage tank andreadily connected thereto by a hose or other coupling means.

A further object is the provision of a pump for drawing a liquid from astorage tank or reservoir, which can be conveniently hand operated todraw a steady flow of liquid from the reservoir.

Still another object is to provide a manually operable pump of thereciprocating piston type having a novel piston assembly which isself-cleaning, self-lubricating and self-aligning within an enclosingcylinder or housing.

A still further object of the instant invention is the provision of sucha manually operable liquid pump wherein substantially all the movingparts thereof are simple in construction so as to be readily formed ormolded from a suitable plastic material.

According to the present invention, the hand-operated pump generallycomprises a housing or cylinder having an inlet end with a valve meanswhich is connected to a source of liquid, such as a storage tank orreservoir, and an outlet end which is secured to a casing having anoutlet or faucet pipe secured thereto. A handle member is disposed onthe exterior of the casing and is provided with a shaft portion which isrotatably mounted within the casing. The shaft portion of the handlemember is operatively associated with a piston assembly slidablydisposed within the housing in such a manner that oscillation of thehandle will result in reciprocation of the piston assembly within thehousing. The piston assembly comprises a piston having a plurality ofrecessed portions at the periphery thereof to define :a flow pathbetween the piston and the housing, a sealing ring disposed adjacent thepiston and surrounding a supporting portion therefor, and a platesecured to the piston supporting portion and axially spaced from thepiston to limit axial movement of the sealing ring during movement ofthe piston within the cylinder. The plate member is provided with aplurality of apertures therethrough which serve to define the flow paththrough the piston assembly in conjunction with the recessed portions inthe periphery of the piston.

When the piston is moved within the housing away from the inlet endthereof, the valve means at the inlet is opened to draw the liquid intothe inlet end of the cylinder. Thereafter, when the piston is movedtoward the inlet end of the cylinder, the valve means is closed and theliquid in the inlet end of the cylinder flows through the pistonassembly to the outlet side thereof, and is thereafter forced out of theoutlet end of the cylinder by the subsequent reciprocation of the pistonassembly away from the inlet end of the cylinder. Through the continuedmanipulation of the handle member, and thus reciprocation of the piston3,335,673 Patented Aug. 15, 1967 assembly within the cylinder, a steadysupply of liquid is caused to flow from the storage tank to the casingand the faucet or outlet pipe mounted thereon.

The present invention, both as to its organization and manner ofoperation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, maybest be understood by reference to the following description, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing, in which like referencecharacters refer to like elements in the several views.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, with parts shown in section andparts broken away, of a manually operable pump constructed according tothe principles of the instant invention, showing the pump as the pistonassembly is being moved towards the outlet end thereof;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged elevational view in section, showing the pistonand housing assembly of the pump of the instant invention, as the pistonassembly is being moved away from the inlet end of the cylinder;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2, showing the piston assembly asit is being moved toward the inlet end of the cylinder;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 44 of FIGURE2; and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 5-5 ofFIGURE 2.

As an exemplary embodiment of the instant invention, FIGURE 1illustrates a-rnanually-operable pump 10 which serves to pump liquidfrom a storage tank or reservoir (not shown) through a hose or conduit12 and an inlet opening 14 of a housing or cylinder 16 .and then to anoutlet or faucet pipe 18.

The lower end of the housing 16 comprises a narrow portion 18 definingthe inlet opening l t and having a series of teeth or notches 20 on theperiphery thereof which are adapted to frictionally engage the interiorsurface of the adjacent end of the hose or conduit 12 to retain itthereon. The upper end of the narrow housing portion 18 merges with afrusto-conical or tapered portion 22 which in turn merges upwardly with:a cylindrical wall 24. A ball member 26 is disposed for free movementwithin the tapered portion 22 of the housing 16 and is adapted to seaton the lower end thereof to close the inlet opening 14 as shown inFIGURE 3. The ball member 26, therefore, serves as a check valve for theinlet opening 14 of the housing 16 and functions to normally close theinlet opening under the force of gravity.

Slidably mounted within the housing 16 for reciprocation therewithin isa piston assembly 28 comprising a disclike piston 30 which is formedintegral with a supporting member 32 therefor. The piston 30 is slightlysmaller in maximum diameter than the inner diameter of the housing 16and is provided with a plurality of equally-spaced, curved recesses 34on the periphery thereof to define a plurality of flow paths between thepiston 30 and the interior surface of the housing 16 (see FIGURE 5). Itis noted that, without departing from the spirit or scope of the instantinvention, the piston recesses 34 could be of any suitable shape ornumber, and need not necessarily be equally spaced along the peripheryof the piston.

The pistion support member 32 comprises a lower cylindrical portion 36disposed adjacent the piston 30 and having a plurality of substantiallyequally-spaced ribs 38 on the periphery thereof, which ribs 38 have anouter surface 40 which is tapered downwardly and outwardly from theupper end of the support portion 36 towards the piston 30. Surroundingthe ribs 38 and adapted to engage the outer surfaces 40 thereof is asealing ring 42 which is generally U-shaped in cross-section and whichnormally rests under the force of gravity on the upper surface of thepiston 30 (see FIGURE 2). The inner annular surface of the sealing ring42 prerefarbly is tapered in the same manner as the outer surfaces 4t)of the ribs 38.

The support member 32 for the piston 30 is provided at its upper endwith a narrow portion 44 which is gene-rally square in cross-section andwhich rotatably supports a pivot pin 46, the ends of which extendoutwardly from opposite sides thereof. A circular plate member 48surrounds the upper portion 44 of the support member 32 and rests on theupper surface of the lower support portion 36 and the ribs 38. The platemember is of a smaller diameter than the maximum diameter of the piston30 and is secured in any suitable manner, such as by a suitableadhesive, to the support member 32. A plurality of equally-spacedapertures 50 are provided through the center portion of the plate member48 and are Positioned between the ribs 38 (see FIGURE 4). It will bereadily seen, therefore that the plate member 48 serves to retain thesealing ring 42 in the annular space between it and the piston 30, andthat the apertures 50 in the plate member 48 serve to define a flow pathwith the recesses 34 in the piston 30.

As shown in FIGURE 1, a pair of links 52 are secured at one end thereofto opposite sides of the pivot pin 45 rotatably mounted in the uppersupport portion 44. The links 52 are secured at their upper ends toopposite sides of a second pivot pin 54 which is rotatably mountedwithin one end of a lever 56. The other end of the lever 56 is securedin any suitable manner to a rod 58 which is rotatably mounted betweenribs 68 formed on the interior of a casing 62. One end of the rod 58extends through an aperture in the casing 62 to the exterior thereof andis secured to an elongated handle member 64 disposed adjacent theexterior of the casing. It will be seen that upward and downwardmovement or oscillation of the handle member 64 will cause rotation ofthe rod 58 and lever 56 secured thereto which, in turn, will cause anupward and downward movement of the links 52 and the piston assembly 28within the housing 16. The oscillatory movement of the handle member 64results in reciprocation of the piston assembly 28 within the housing16.

The upper end of the casing 62 is provided with a hub portion 66 inwhich the lower end of the outlet pipe 18 is rotatably or otherwisemounted in any suitable manner. The lower end of the casing 62 isprovided with laterallyextending flange portions 68 which are adapted tobe secured to a support surface or platform 70 by any suitable meanssuch as screws 72. As shown in FIGURE 1, the upper end of the housing 16is provided with an annular flange 74 disposed adjacent to theundersurface of the casing 62. A gasket 76 is disposed between thehousing flange 74 and the casing undersurface to provide a liquid-tightseal therebetween, and the housing flange 74 is secured to the casingundersurface in any suitable manner such as by screws 78.

In the operation of the instant manually-operable pump 10, when it isdesired to create a flow of liquid such as water, from the inlet pipe orconduit 12 to the outlet or faucet pipe 18, the handle member 64 isgrasped and continuously oscillated or moved upwardly and downwardly tocause a reciprocation of the piston assembly 28 within the housing 16.Assuming that the piston assembly 28 is initially in a down position andis being moved upwardly, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the ball checkvalve 26 will be lifted upwardly from its seat on the tapered portion 22of the housing 16 by the reduction in pressure created in the portion ofthe housing 16 beneath the piston as it is being moved upwardly. Thisreduction in pressure will cause liquid to flow upwardly from thereservoir (not shown) through the conduit 12 and the inlet opening 14 inthe housing 16 and then into the portion of the housing beneath thepiston assembly 28 as shown by the arrows in FIGURES 1 and 2.

During the upward movement of the piston assembly 28, the sealing ring42 will seal the portion of the housing 16 beneath the piston assemblyfrom that above the piston assembly, owing to the tight engagement ofthe sealing ring 42 with the upper surface of the piston 30 inwardly ofthe recesses 34 and with the interior surface of the housing 16 (seeFIGURE 2). Also, during this sealing action of the sealing ring 42, theouter surfaces 40 of the ribs 38 serve to support the sealing ring andto maintain it in an annular shape.

When the piston assembly 28 thereafter is moved downwardly by a downwardmovement of the handle member 64, as shown in FIGURE 3, the sealing ring42 is moved upwardly out of engagment with the upper surface of thepiston 30 and into engagement with the undersurface of the plate member48. This upward movement of the sealing ring 42 opens the pistonrecesses 34 to define a flow path between the recesses 34 and theapertures 50 in the plate member 48 as shown by the arrows in FIGURE 3.The downward movement of the piston assembly within the housing 16 alsocauses the ball member 26 to move downwardly under increase liquidpressure into engagement with the tapered portion 22 of the housing 16to seal the inlet opening 14 therein. The liquid in the lower portion ofthe housing 16, therefore, will move upwardly through the recesses 34 inthe piston 30 and through the apertures 50 in the plate member 48 duringsuch downward movement of the piston assembly 28.

During a subsequent upward movement of the piston assembly 28, thesealing ring 42 will again move downwardly into sealing engagement withthe upper surface of the piston 30 and the inner wall of the housing 16to thus trap the liquid above the piston assembly 28 and convey itupwardly out of the housing 16 and into the easing 62. As will beobvious to one skilled in the art, when a suflicient amount of liquid isconveyed to the casing 62, the pressure thereof, caused by upwardmovement of the piston assembly 28, will cause the liquid to moveupwardly out of the casing 62 and through the outlet pipe 18. Duringthis upward movement of the piston assembly, the ball check valve 26 isagain opened to draw liquid into the housing and, thus, to repeat thecycle described above.

Since the outer maximum diameter of the piston 30 is less than that ofthe inner surface of the housing 16, the flow of liquid between thepiston 30 and the housing 16 will occur not only through the recessedportions 34 of the piston 30, but also to some extent between theoutermost surfaces of the piston 30 and the adjacent inner surface ofthe housing 16. This flow of liquid over substantially the entire outersurface of the piston 30 serves to prevent any sediment or foreignmatter from accumulating thereon and also provides to some extent alubricating action between the outer surface of the piston and theadjacent inner surface of the housing as the piston is beingreciprocated therewithin. The construction of the instant piston 30 andits relation to the housing 16, therefore, enables the piston to besubstantially self-cleaning, self-lubricatin g and self-aligning withinthe housing 16.

Owing to the simple construction of the instant pump assembly 10,substantially all of the moving parts thereof may be easily formed ormolded from a suitable plastic material which is not subject tocorrosion by a liquid, such as water, being pumped from the inletconduit 12 to the outlet pipe 18.

While the particular manually-operable pump herein shown and describedin detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing theadvantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merelyillustrative of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention andthat no limitations are intended to the details of construction ordesign herein shown other than .as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a reciprocating pump having a cylinder: a piston comprising a pairof axially spaced substantially flat discs; a hub element between saiddiscs and defining therewith flange portions diverging relative to saidweb, the inner flange portion tapering at substantially the same angleas the said portion of said hub, the outer flange tapering outwardly tothe cylinder Wall and being flexibly displaceable radially inwardlytherefrom into said space; said sealing member being of less axiallength than said annular space and being freely movably mounted thereinfor movement, in response to movement of said piston, from a first axialposition wherein its web seats and seals on one of said discs with itsinner flange bearing on said tapered hub and the edge of its outerflange engaging and sealing against said cylinder, to a second positionwhere its inner flange and web are spaced from said hub and said onedisc, respectively and its outer flange being pressure responsive toflex inwardly; and means defining a flow passage past said discs andwhich is closed by said sealing member when in said first position andopen when said sealing member is in said second position whereby fluidpressure may flex said outer flange inwardly to allow flow past theouter periphery thereof.

2. A reciprocating pump as defined in claim 1 wherein said meansdefining said flow passage comprises an annular clearance space betweenthe peripheries of said discs and said cylinder.

3. A reciprocating pump as defined in claim 2 wherein said flow passagefurther comprises notches in the periphery of said one disc.

4. A reciprocating pump as defined in claim 1 wherein said flow passageis defined in part by axial openings through the other of said discs,said openings being radially inwardly of said sealing member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,575,767 3/1926 Jackson 103-1781,815,698 7/1931 Bennett et al. 103-178 2,614,793 10/1952 Storm 1031782,683,060 7/1954 Wise et a1 l03-l78 2,689,533 9/1954 'Ericson 103-4783,085,515 4/196-3 Workman l0317 8 3,094,938 6/ 1963 Blomeke et al.103-225 3,143,969 8/1964 Eames et al. 10 3-194 3,224,378 12/1965 Graham103-178 FOREIGN PATENTS 975,469 11/1961 Germany.

12/1953 Great Britain.

1/ 1953 Italy.

DONLEY J. STOCKING, Primary Examiner. W. L. FREEH, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN A RECIPROCATING PUMP HAVING A CYLINDER: A PISTON COMPRISING A PAIROF AXIALLY SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT DISCS; A HUB ELEMENT BETWEEN SAIDDISCS AND DEFINING THEREWITH AN ANNULAR SPACE; THE OUTER PERIPHERALPORTION OF SAID HUB BEING AXIALLY TAPERED IN ONE DIRECTION; AN ANNULARCHANNEL-SHAPED RESILIENT SEALING MEMBER IN SAID SPACE AND COMPRISING ARADIAL WEB PORTION AND INNER AND OUTER FLEXIBLE FLANGE PORTIONSDIVERGING RELATIVE TO SAID WEB, THE INNER FLANGE PORTION TAPERING ATSUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME ANGLE AS THE SAID PORTION OF SAID HUB, THE OUTERFLANGE TAPERING OUTWARDLY TO THE CYLINDER WALL AND BEING FLEXIBLYDISPLACEABLE RADIALLY INWARDLY THEREFROM INTO SAID SPACE; SAID SEALINGMEMBER BEING OF LESS AXIAL LENGTH THAN SAID ANNULAR SPACE AND BEINGFREELY MOVABLY MOUNTED THEREIN FOR MOVEMENT, IN RESPONSE TO MOVEMENT OFSAID PISTON, FROM A FIRST AXIAL POSITION WHEREIN ITS WEB SEATS AND SEALSON ONE OF SAID DISCS WITH ITS INNER FLANGE BEARING ON SAID TAPERED HUBAND THE EDGE OF ITS OUTER FLANGE ENGAGING AND SEALING AGAINST SAIDCYLINDER, TO A SECOND POSITION WHERE ITS INNER FLANGE AND WEB ARE SPACEDFROM SAID HUB AND SAID ONE DISC, RESPECTIVELY AND ITS OUTER FLANGE BEINGPRESSURE RESPONSIVE TO FLEX INWARDLY; AND MEANS DEFININ A FLOW PASSAGEPAST SAID DISCS AND WHICH IS CLOSED BY SAID SEALING MEMBER WHICH IN SAIDFIRST POSITION AND OPEN WHEN SAID SEALING MEMBER IS IN SAID SECONDPOSITION WHEREBY FLUID PRESSURE MAY FLEX SAID OUTER FLANGE INWARDLY TOALLOW FLOW PAST THE OUTER PERIPHERY THEREOF.